Sean Michael Kerner

Symantec issued a warning on Oct. 11 about an emerging malware dubbed Odinaff that is going after the SWIFT messaging system used by banks for financial transfers. It’s currently unclear what will be the precise financial impact of Odinaff. “We estimate around 100 organizations were infected, but we don’t have full visibility into all the […]

Internet of things security isn’t just a concern for individual devices; it’s a risk that extends to the cloud. In a detailed 75-page report the Cloud Security Alliance (CSA) provides a detailed road map for developing secure internet of things products. While internet of things devices are often small embedded systems, IoT and the cloud […]

An overabundance of security news and alerts has led to “security fatigue,” which is causing users to make bad choices when it comes to online security, suggests a report from the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST). Although the report just came out Oct. 4, the data collection for the study took place from […]

The technology concept of blockchain gained notoriety due to the rise of the Bitcoin cryptocurrency, but blockchain has much wider implications and uses, according to Brian Behlendorf, executive director of the Hyperledger Project. In December 2015, the Linux Foundation announced the launch of the Hyperledger Project in an effort to build an open-source blockchain platform. […]

For more than a decade, every MacBook that Apple has shipped has come equipped with a built-in camera and microphone. According to Synack’s Director of Research Patrick Wardle, it’s possible for an attacker to gain access to a macOS device’s webcam and microphone by hiding alongside, or “piggybacking,” a legitimate application that is accessing the […]

The open-source OpenStack project released OpenStack Newton on Oct. 6, providing the second major milestone update for the cloud platform in 2016. OpenStack Newton follows the Mitaka release, which debuted in April with a focus on simplifying cloud operations. In contrast, OpenStack Newton provides a long list of incremental updates and improvements, including improved security, […]

In 2015, Yahoo allegedly developed a system that enables it to search all of its Yahoo Mail user accounts for information requested by the U.S. government, according to a Reuters report published on Oct. 4. Yahoo has responded to media outlets requesting comment on the allegation with a terse one line comment: “Yahoo is a […]

The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Maryland revealed on Oct. 5 that a National Security Agency contractor was arrested on Aug. 27 on charges of confidential information theft. Charged is 51-year-old Harold Thomas Martin III on allegations that he removed and retained classified government documents. Law enforcement executed a search warrant on Martin’s […]

Google has released its October 2016 Android Security bulletin, providing patches for 78 identified vulnerabilities, seven of which are rated as critical. Once again, the fixes include commonly patched elements, including Qualcomm components and flaws that have already been patched in the upstream Linux kernel. The leading culprit of critical severity flaws in the October […]

On a quest in 2016 to understand better how company boards of directors view security, cyber-risk analytics firm Bay Dynamics released its third report this year on board perceptions. Aimed at discovering what’s driving boards of directors to make cyber-security a top priority, the study found that compliance with regulations was the key reason. Among […]

The open-source Kubernetes 1.4 release, which debuted Sept. 26, provides users with a host of enhanced security capabilities for container deployment and orchestration. Kubernetes originated at Google and is now part of the Cloud Native Computing Foundation, benefiting from the contributions of multiple vendors. Among the new features in Kubernetes 1.4 is TLS bootstrap, which […]

The market for iOS bug bounty rewards now stands at an all-time high of $1.5 million, thanks to an increased payout schedule from Zerodium. On Sept. 29, the company updated its bug bounty payout ranges, increasing the top iOS reward, which previously stood at $1 million. Zerodium is offering the $1.5 million iOS bug bounty […]